Method validation of measuring endogenous lead levels in scalp hair of acid battery plant workers by flame atomic absorption spectroscopy

Acid battery plants cause high emissions of lead which is considered a harmful contaminant for human health. Since lead is found in measurable amounts in scalp hair of acid battery workers, flame atomic absorption spectroscopy is considered a satisfactory tool for measuring endogenous lead levels in scalp hair. The method used in sample preparation was wet ashing with nitric acid (69-71%). The method validation comprises the study of selectivity, linearity, recovery, limit of detection, the limit of quantification, accuracy, intra-day precision, and inter-day precision. The value of correlation coefficient was 0.9992. The limit of detection and the limit of quantification were 0.254 and 0.570 mg/g, respectively. The relative recovery % value was between 4.3% and 13%. In addition, the value of intra-day precision was 2.85% and 4.63%, at 0.50 mg/g and 2.0 mg/g spiked hair samples, while the inter-day precision was found 7.41% and 4.38% at 0.50 mg/g and 2.0 mg/g spiked hair samples. In conclusion, this flame atomic absorption spectroscopy validated method meets the validation requirements in selectivity, linearity, accuracy, and precision and it was successfully applied for determination of lead in scalp hair.

Automated summary

Acid battery plants emit lead which is harmful to human health. Flame atomic absorption spectroscopy is a satisfactory method for measuring endogenous lead levels in scalp hair. The method involves wet ashing with nitric acid for sample preparation. The method validation includes selectivity, linearity, recovery, limit of detection, limit of quantification, accuracy, intra-day precision, and inter-day precision. The results show that the method meets the validation requirements and successfully determines lead in scalp hair.